Didcot Power Station: Widow's concern over 'shocking' probe delay

A widow whose husband died in the Didcot Power Station collapse said the six-year investigation into what went wrong has taken too long.

Gail Cresswell's husband Ken, who was 57, died along with three other demolition workers after a boiler house came down on 23 February 2016.

She said a lack of progress in the Thames Valley Police-led probe has been "shocking" and "really hard" to endure.

The force said it "will not stop in our pursuit of answers for the families".

Mr Cresswell and John Shaw, 61, who were both from Rotherham, Michael Collings, 53, from Teesside, and Christopher Huxtable, 34, from Swansea, all died.

It took more than six months for their bodies to be recovered, prompting criticism from their families at the time.

"It's still like it happened yesterday as we're still living in it. Nobody should go to work and not come home," Mrs Cresswell said.

She said the demolition industry "needs answers" from the joint police and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation to prevent further accidents.

"My concern is that at six years, the investigation has gone on too long," she said.

"Ken should be home with his family who love and miss him dearly, not laid up on that hill.

"Month after month, year after year, we're told again and again, 'still no updates' by the family liaison officer. It's really, really hard what the families are being put through.

"We're just not getting anywhere and it's shocking that we're just told the same thing every six months."

Civil claims on behalf of the Cresswell, Shaw and Huxtable families were settled about three years ago with the help of Keith Cundall, who works for law firm Fieldfisher Manchester.

"My concern is that once again the families are being given limited information about the status of the investigations and there is no end in sight for them," Mr Cundall said.

At a pre-inquest review at Oxford Coroner's Court in July 2021, it was revealed that investigators had taken 2,429 witness statements and had 185,000 "digital artefacts".

Thames Valley Police deputy chief constable Jason Hogg confirmed the investigation is still ongoing.

It "continues to focus" on possible corporate manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter and health and safety offences, he said.

The force remains "committed to this extremely complex and challenging investigation" and maintains "close contact" with the victims' families.

He added: "At this time we cannot put a timeframe on when the investigation will conclude, however I would like to be very clear that we will not stop in our pursuit of answers for the families."

Didcot A Power Station was turned off in 2013, after 43 years in service.

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